Sunday, 23 November 2008

Most of the little quilts have now been mailed and are winging or swimming (or crawling, it seems, in many cases!) their way toward their recipients. There are 7 quilts which have yet to be mailed. One is the one which is coming to me, which is going to go off and be Famous in a Big Show first. Two are the two which I've mentioned where the makers have fallen completely out of touch and which I now have angels for (thanks again for ALL the offers!). The other four are instances where I know what's happening - some family crises, illness, and so on. I have resisted say whose quilts are on the way and who will have to wait a bit longer as I know you guys would all like the element of surprise (though in some cases, I have contacted you personally or responded to queries) - if you are at all worried, please feel free to contact me - but I am keeping an eye on things, so don't panic!

Here's the quilt Sharon Z (Canada) made for her partner - another lovely little log cabin. Can't remember off the top of my head if her partner has had it yet, so I won't mention who it's for, just in case. Whoever it's for, is lucky!

Saturday, 22 November 2008

Here's the great little streak of lightning quilt the other Kate* made for her partner. Don't you love the way the lightning bolt lenths are varied, more like real lightning? This is a fun little quilt; another I'd be pleased to give a home to!

*Sorry Kate C, but as the hostess, I get to be "Kate" and you have to be "the other Kate", LOL!

Friday, 21 November 2008

Please feel free not to read this. But I thought that it was appropriate to share a few thoughts about just what is and is not acceptable to me as hostess in terms of quilts with issues or problems in one of my swaps. Please note that these remarks do not refer to any one specific quilt!!

quality varies. We are all differently abled. This is a swap, you take risks that the piece you receive will be not quite as good as you might have done yourself. If you can't live with that, you shouldn't join a swap. HOWEVER, there are some things which I think are unacceptable. Open seams. Holes. Quilting which has caused folding or rucking on the FRONT of the quilt (on the back, we can allow some leeway). Binding which isn't attached all the way. Bleeding on a quilt which has been washed. Points chopped off so badly that it's not apparent what the design was. A quilt which is susbstantially below the minimum size requirement.

I ask for preferences at the start of a swap to give guidelines to the maker. I would expect that any strong preferences be adhered to, especially negative ones. For instance, if you say you love purple and green, I wouldn't necessarily expect the maker to make a purple and green quilt (though it would be great if they did) but if you said you hated yellow, the maker should not make you a yellow quilt. I ask people not to be too picky about their preferences, to give the maker some leeway, but I also expect the maker to avoid Sunbonnet Sue if you say you hate her. Fair's fair.

If you mention a style you particularly like (log cabin, samplers, circles) then the maker has a chance to follow this preference, but is not obliged to. This is a swap, after all - if you only want one specific thing, you should make the quilt yourself.

If you receive a quilt which is made well, but isn't really "you", that's disappointing, and please feel free to write and tell me about it, because it may inform my decisions about partners for future swaps, who is allowed to play, etc, but it's not really cause for receiving a new quilt. I would only ask for an angel quilt in the event of substantial problems with the quality of the piece (and believe me, I would ask for photos or to have the quilt sent to me as proof) or, of course, non-receipt.

So, how can you avoid having to worry that your quilt might not be "good enough"?

Firstly, look at your partner's preferences. Make sure to note anything obvious. Buy fabric if you have to. Ask questions from the hostess if you don't really understand what sort of thing your partner likes. Haunt her blog.

Second, don't try a new technique on a piece you are making for someone else. Stick with what you know. And don't be too ambitious - it's better to produce a well-made simple piece than something really fancy which doesn't work.

Third, be honest when signing up about your quilting ability - if you are a beginner, say so. The hostess will partner you with another beginner so that your finished projects will be more comparable.

Fourth, be honest with yourself when your quilt is finished. Would you be happy to receive this piece from someone else?

Isn't it fab? This arrived recently with Trisha, from Kerry. Kerry has done a fabulous job - and unfortunately for me, Trisha loves the quilt, so there's no chance she'll be willing to send it my way. Darn!

Here's one that somehow fell through the net before - it was made and mailed some time ago - made by Amy M for Tracy (and now received). Not quite sure how I managed to miss posting a photo, but I'm trying to catch up with everything tonight, so here's one a bit late!

To all those who have responded about this - thank you very much for your kind offers of being angels, I was overwhelmed with them. I'll try to let everyone know by the end of the weekend if their help is needed - I am still hoping - perhaps overly optimistically - that I might hear from the two people in question. But thank you, you are all very generous.

I did have a question about my mention of a poor quality quilt - please don't sit around worrying that this might be your piece. If I ever feel it is necessary to replace a quilt on the grounds of quality, I will contact the individual concerned, privately. So, if it's you, you'd know in a discreet way and if I don't contact you, it's not you. Simple as that.

If you have concerns about a piece that you receive (which is very rarely the case) please don't feel you can't raise them with me. That's what I'm here for.

Thursday, 20 November 2008

I know a lot of you are still waiting on your quilts - there are quite a few in transit at the moment, so many of you can expect something squishie in the post very soon. If you have received a quilt recently, please be sure to let me know - there are a few which I will be chasing up soon as it seems like they should surely have reached their new owners by now, even given the slowness of the postal systems at the moment!

There are also a few people who have not yet mailed a quilt. In six instances, I know about this, and am keeping an eye on it - we all know life happens and things like sick children and deaths in the family of course have to come first. There are, however, unfortunately, two people who I have been unable to contact in regard to the quilt they are making. I have tried tonight leaving comments on their blogs one last time (and I do hope nothing is wrong in either of these cases) but it's possible - likely, even - that I am going to need an angel [that is, someone to make an extra quilt for no other return than my eternal gratitude] - I do have one volunteer angel already and would make the other piece myself except I have already angel-ed for this swap for someone who received a very poor quality piece. If you think you might be able to help out, please email me...

If you haven't yet received your mini, feel free to email me and I can let you know whether it is on the way or not - you may, of course, prefer not to know, so it's more of a surprise, and I will be keeping an eye on all the quilts which have been mailed and checking up if they don't seem to arrive in a timely fashion, so you don't have to panic, thinking something has gone astray. There were a LOT of late quilts this time around - which is understandable this time of year, if a little disappointing. That said, there have also been some really lovely pieces made, which I am delighted to see.

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

This one was made by (wait for it!) Teresa - I love the leaf buttons she's added. Another pretty little quilt. A few more to go, but not too many now. Don't forget to let me know if you send or receive a quilt!

Tuesday, 18 November 2008

...is the name given this lovely piece by its maker, Annette - she has a close-up on her blog as well, so be sure to hop over there and check it out. It may be a little late, but it's worth waiting for! Another one I wish were mine. Not that I won't love mine - I know I will - I just want all of them, I guess!

Here's a lovely pink quilt made by Solidia - I'm not the number one pink fan in the world (though I like it more as I get older) but this one, I'd gladly give wall-space to! It's off to a new home now, in a foreign country to where it was created... Bon voyage!

Hello all - most of you have let me know about mailing your quilts (or for those running a bit late, who seem to be rather a large number this round, about your progress), but can the following two people please contact me as soon as possible as I haven't been able to reach you by email:

Karen M

Karla

Also, if you have mailed your quilt off and not told me, please let me know. Likewise, if you have RECEIVED a quilt and not told me, please also let me know. And remember to thank your partner. If no email address or blog was included, contact me and I'll provide the appropriate email address for you.

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

This feathered star (great fabric in the star, isn't it!) was made by Silvia for her partner. So many quilt pics coming in now and quilts being mailed off - hopefully many of you will soon be very happy to get a squishie in the post!

...at least I think that's the name of this type of pattern. Regardless of that, it's a great piece, isn't it - I love the colours. Samantha has sent this off to her partner, who is a lucky, lucky person!

Here's Charlie's quilt - he forgot to take a photo of it bound, but I wanted to show you a photo of it anyway, for one thing because it's a great little quilt, and for another thing, because it goes so nicely with the quilt Michelle made (next post).

Wednesday, 5 November 2008

Just a quickie to remind everyone to please let your partner (the one who made a quilt for you) know when you receive the quilt - if the maker didn't include an email address or you can't leave a comment through her/his blog (all listed in the sidebar here) email me and I will send you the right email address to use!

Sunday, 2 November 2008

Here's another lovely piece (am I using the word lovely too much? What else can I say!), this time made by Gabriele - it's on its way to someone in another country - easy to say in this instance as I think she is our only German player this time around...